US fake university sting: Many Indian students released from custody, 'immigration status okay in many cases', say officials

New York: Official sources in the US confirmed to Firstpost that “many” of the “close to 140” students arrested in the ICE fake university sting operation by US law enforcement and not implicated have been released and have “gone back” (to their lives as usual or back home to India). In many cases, “their immigration status was okay, there was no problem”, sources on the frontlines of the effort to deliver legal resources to the affected students said. “Those who are not yet implicated… many of them have gone back without any issues. The issues that remain relate to those on whom there are detention orders. They’ve either been released and given a date for a court hearing or still in custody waiting for a court hearing”, sources told us. [caption id=“attachment_6048221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image. Reuters[/caption] Without specifying exact numbers, sources said that “authorities themselves are not clear exactly how many students are involved in total. “We have a better take on those who have been detained - close to 140.” Although arrested en masse across 36 different locations under the umbrella of the same case, each of the students is dealing with different set of legal issues. “These are not generic cases, each one is specific to the student in question”, sources said. “Visas were okay” “Make no mistake, the US visas stamped on the passports are perfectly bonafide documents, there’s no problem there”, an Indian official familiar with the fallout of the sting operation told Firstpost, on background. In response to a Firstpost question on the arrested students’ visa status, ICE officials have preferred to point to the language of the indictment which says that the students knew there were no classes, no curriculum. Khaalid Walls, Northeast Regional Communications Director and Spokesman for ICE has this to say: “Each of the foreign citizens who “enrolled” and made “tuition” payments to the University knew that they would not attend any actual classes, earn credits, or make academic progress toward an actual degree in a particular field of study – a “pay to stay” scheme. Rather, their intent was to fraudulently maintain their student visa status and to obtain work authorization under the CPT program. Each student knew that the University’s program was not approved by the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), was illegal, and that discretion should be used when discussing the program with others. the fact that The 129 students arrested in the US and placed in removal proceedings “knew that they would not attend any actual classes, earn credits, or make academic progress toward an actual degree in a particular field of study – a “pay to stay” scheme” “Yes, but they did not know it was illegal . Also there’s a lot of grey after USCIS changed the visa guidelines last summer, says Jayaprakash Talluri from Telugu Association of North America which is leading the community effort to help the affected students. The two numbers we know The indictment by a Michigan court - which is when this story broke - talks of 600 foreign students who were lured into joining Farmington University and the number that’s currently doing the rounds in the Indian context is either 129 or 140 based on the version of ICE or of officials on the other side of this crisis. So, what about the students who represent the 600 minus 140 or 129 number? “Even the authorities are not sure. There are a certain number of students who were enrolled in Farmington University. There are a certain number who have been detailed. We know exactly what’s going on with those in custody, not so much the ones who are in the grey zone”, officials said. Who’s calling on the helpline? The Indian Embassy in Washington DC has been receiving a steady stream of calls from “students their family members, some from those who are implicated, some who fear they may be implicated”. The calls are mostly about legal options available. Each case differs, each individual is dealing with a different situation, sources said. Consular access to “all students” in 36 locations India’s Ambassador to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla told Firstpost that Indian missions have provided to students’ families a “comprehensive” list of lawyers on the Indian consulates’ panel and have also spoken with many of these lawyers willing to offer pro bono advice. “It’s been a tremendous effort on an emergency footing. India now has consular access to all of the arrested students. There are 36 locations where our people have gone in person and reached out”, he said.